2023-2024 Conferences
2023–2024
Conference
Spring 2024 Conference:
Trust in Academia?
Christianity and trust in a sceptical world
Theme and focus
Academic research can shape society in powerful ways: but how can you know what research to trust? What role does trust have as we examine each other’s sources, interpret data, and relate to our colleagues?
In today’s society, where trust often seems naive, it can be hard to know whom to trust, when to trust, or whether we should trust at all. Yet trust is a virtue at the very heart of the Christian faith. So how, as Christian scholars, should we think about trust? Does trust require a leap of faith; or if not, how should we make use of evidence; and how do our moral commitments feed into this process? And how does a biblical understanding of trust enrich our work and witness?
Dr Tom Simpson, from the University of Oxford, will speak to us about this topic, drawing on his new book Trust: A Philosophical Study (OUP 2023). Academics from across the UK, in fields from computer science to sociology, will respond to Dr Simpson and consider implications of his argument for their fields, and they will facilitate discipline-specific seminars, where you can meet with and learn from fellow postgraduates and postdocs in your subject area.
Conference Programme
- 09.30 - Arrival and registration
- 10.00 - Welcome and vision
- 10.15 - Dr Tom Simpson presents key ideas from his book
- 10.45 - Q&A Session
- 11.00 - Coffee break
- 11.30 - Interdisciplinary responses from academics
- 13.00 - Lunch (provided in the Round Church)
- 14.00 - Seminars for discipline clusters
- 15.15 - Panel discussion
- 16.15 - Concluding remarks
- 16.30 - Close and optional pub trip
Speakers
Dr Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and a Senior Fellow at Wadham College. He works particularly on trust, and issues at the intersection of technology and security. He has a PhD from Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, where he also served as a Research Fellow. This conference is the launch of his most recent book, Trust: A Philosophical Study (OUP).
Dr David Glass
David Glass is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and a member of the Artificial Intelligence Research Centre at Ulster University. He has a BSc in mathematics, MA in philosophy, and PhD in theoretical physics from Queen’s University, Belfast. His current research lies at the intersection of computer science, mathematics, and philosophy of science. A key aspect of his work is on explanatory and Bayesian reasoning, though he also works on other topics in AI and the mathematical and computational modelling of complex systems. He has published widely in these fields and his work has found application in a range of areas including COVID-19 modelling and other aspects of healthcare. David has also undertaken research on the relationship between science and belief in God and has led research projects with a focus on how scientific and religious explanations can work together. He regularly gives talks on rationality of the Christian faith and is the author of Atheism’s New Clothes (IVP/Apollos).
Kristi Mair
Kristi Mair holds degrees in philosophy, theology, and ethics. Kristi lectures on a range of subjects, including philosophy, apologetics, public theology, and ethics at Oak Hill College in North London. She is currently completing her doctorate in philosophical epistemology at the University of Birmingham. She wrote More>Truth (IVP 2019) and co-edited the first full-length Christian response to the pandemic, Healthy Faith (IVP 2020).
Dr Simon Carmel
Simon Carmel is a Lecturer in Work and Organisation Studies in Essex Business School (University of Essex). His first degree was in Natural Sciences, after which he worked in the computer industry for five years before re-training in Social Research. His PhD (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) was awarded in 2003 for an ethnographic study of intensive care. Having published a number of articles in medical sociology, he has more recently been collaborating with accountancy researchers who share his interest in applying sociological concepts and theories to a range of contexts – for example, locally owned businesses in developing economies, ethnic minority businesses in advanced economies, and the professional perspectives of public sector accountants. He is currently in the early stages of a project on leadership and accountability in spiritual organisations.
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